marko

Any track could reopen if someone was prepared to throw money at it, problems only arise if you would be looking at it from a self sufficient business point of view. I would love Arena Essex (the venue) to come back but unless someone is willing to give Google 12 million plus for the land, it’s never going to happen. Thurrock Hammers could happen if land was found that was available for a few hundred thousand.

I like to think the stars of yesterday were better all round motorcyclists than those of today, (bar a few exceptions) certainly were more prepared to race tracks which were far from perfect, and still rode them to a high standard. I would have loved to have seen Darcy Ward on an upright though, I think that kid would have been even better.

Seen heat 13 on you tube, good race until Bomber went off the blue groove then it was all over, might as well have tracks be eight feet wide when it’s like that because going any further out and you just go backwards.

It goes to show just how good the NSS is that it’s so hard to them ride it effectively, some tracks you put two riders side by side and there is no room to pass no matter how fast you are, the NSS is a dream for real racers who can move the bike. Can you imagine how Mark Loram and Joe Screen would have done on this track.

At one point I’m sure the idea of having TV money was so that clubs could discount the prices and attract more to come, the benefit to them being it would look better on TV and attract new supporters but alas they got greedy and wanted both the TV money and keep gate prices high.

Thing is, I have seen quite a few clips online from Ipswich over the last few seasons, dust isn’t something that springs to mind like other tracks I could mention that are always dry as a bone.

I think it just really shows where British Speedway is now, riders can ride when they want and no one outside a few fans will question it. It doesn’t help the integrity but then I guess it doesn’t have much left anyway, this match is a dead rubber as are most matches in this league, the only ones which count are the play offs and each team being equal has a 68% chance of making it, and this season it’s nearer to 84%

And I will say the same thing here about Doyle as per Kurtz, he rode in the Grand Prix, he should race for Ipswich and if he doesnt, he should face a mandatory seven day cool down before he can race again. (An official doctors note should also be provided in all cases)

If Kurtz is not going to ride then no facility should be allowed. Wasnt there a ruling not so long ago that if a rider was not fit to ride, they would automatically be banned from racing for seven days to stop this going on where riders would be fit and unfit several times in the space of a week?

Sounds like another great advertisement for the sport, thankfully the only ones who saw it are the diehard fans or who paid BSN. I was never going to sub to BSN this season, it’s not their fault but the sport now is just going further down the drain with tracks no better than some grassy field, and I think they will struggle over time as who is going to pay money to watch paint dry?

No one, I went to speedway to watch the riders, not the manager, anyone can do that and going by some of the people who have got the job over the last decade or so, has got it despite never rode a bike, they just have the right friends, hardly a qualification.

The thing is some fans can’t separate their own bias towards the sport, I doubt anyone catching that on tv without much knowledge of speedway would be impressed let alone searching for their nearest track. Newcomers don’t want to go somewhere where they are likely to get covered in dust and the racing is all the riders riding the inside following each other. As for Tobys comments about wanting it dry and slick, I find that very shortsighted, the riders might like it like that but that sort of racing doesn’t draw crowds, how are they going to continue being paid to race when fewer and fewer are going to watch?

No winners tonight, terrible advert for the sport on a terrible track

Victor has been tearing it up, the last time I saw a reserve hit those kind of scores was Pavlic for Swindon many years ago. But the thing is these riders will only stay as reserve for so long. If only Monarchs were in a slightly better shape they could have stormed the league this season.

Saw a clip on youtube of the final race, track was bare and bone dry, biggest blue groove I have ever seen, this seems to be what speedway is becoming.

Sorry but that is not a good look when you can see a blue groove like that, its means there obviously was not enough material on it to start with, even a light shower on that would have meant an abandonment. Did it cost Ipswich match with the track like that? I hope not, even with two riders out i can't believe they have lost at home, if there was one certainty this season, the Witches would not get beaten around Foxhall, but it goes to show though, the league is far from the forgone conclusion many thought it would likely be.

Most races are drawn out from the gate, same at most tracks, some tracks are a little more setup to allow races like we saw with the British Final. Some tracks you can race on but essentially your only just following the rider in front hoping they make a mistake because there is only one line which is either on the curb or right out by the fence, stray from that and you go backwards.

Although a Plymouth thread, most promoters (such a misleading word) have been making poor decisions for years, never looking ahead, always the short term plaster, the “engine” is knackered, putting some new oil in it isn’t going to make any difference. PS no one wants any track to close, probably more fans now on this forum who have lost a track than still have one.

As I have been saying for some time, riders today can turn up and if they are not bothered, that’s it, heat leaders like Batch are probably on a guarantee equivalent to 7 or 8 points anyway. And promoters wonder why they lose money!

Not surprised dogs love it, we all as fans love the smell, Dogs have much better ability to smell, so the methanol fix for them must be off the charts 😉

Nothing wrong with technical tracks, I followed Arena Essex from 88 to 2018

Rider assets went with doubling up, if a rider rides in prem and champ, who really owns his British league contract?

Location wise probably not the easiest track to get to and for travelling in 2025 that has to be a consideration, along with the track itself, not only is it very small but it’s also far too narrow, see Ben Barkers crash, you get it wrong and not much margin for error and bang your in the fence or over it, the more width you have on the bends the more time you have to bail out or put the bike down. Plymouth would better suited in a third tier where costs are lower and riders not so fast around such a limited space but still a good track for teaching lesser riders how to turn harder.

Five teams, Four places, it’s not really that exciting. Five teams and two places, that would change the dynamic. Always said too many play off spots, for a system of four play off spots you need at least a eight team league minimum, how can you justify finishing in the bottom half of the table (4th in 7) and still being potentially crowed champions, no credibility in that.

True but I am talking about applying water to a track that effectively has no or very little dirt on it, your down to the hard base which is like concrete and nowhere for the water to go other than run off onto the centre green if there is enough of a camber or more likely sit on top like a wet tarmac road, doesn’t need to puddle to become dangerous.